Purple Back Gorillaz
by DeimosPhobos
Summary: When Danny falls under the weather, Skulker becomes determined to find something else to occupy his time. Enter 2D, a one-of-a-kind "gorilla" who is about to get the adventure of a lifetime, whether he likes it or not.
1. Cold

It hardly ever rained in the Ghost Zone. When it did, which was always an oddity; it made the green realm look even gloomier. The dark liquid would fall from someplace above, landing on doors and islands, causing ice to form a thin layer across everything.

Presently, Skulker, ghost Zone's greatest hunter, was taking refuge in the large skull-like cave that looked like it had a runny nose. Scowling, the ghost glared out the opening of the cave, silently cursing the weather. He had been on his way to the Fenton portal in another attempt to catch the ghost kid, yesterday, when the sky opened up. There wasn't too much ice on his metal suit, but it would be foolish to continue on through the weather. Turning intangible, a trick he had tried before, didn't work. He had frozen stiff in the middle of nowhere, at the mercy of the other ghosts. To add insult to injury, it had been that technology crazed ghost who had found him. The skinny guy agreed to thaw him out with some crappy invention he had "found", but saving the ghost did little to nothing in creating a bond between them, and so they still resented each other.

In the end, Skulker learned the hard way that it was best to wait it out.

"Curse the weather…" he snarled, breaking off an icicle from his shoulder blade. "The ghost child is ill, making this the perfect time to catch him. He is weak, unarmed…" He paused, thinking. Killing his greatest prize when he was ill would do nothing to boost his image. If anything, it would make it much worse. "I suppose I will have to wait until he is better."

As if to remind him of its presence, the sky rumbled again. White light flashed for a moment before assaulting the Ghost Zone with another downpour of rain.

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Rather than settle with doing nothing while the boy recovered, Skulker turned his attention to other prizes. Using the PDA he had attached to his arm, he connected to another computer he had on the island. From there, he began a search on rare and unusual creatures. He narrowed his search almost at once, eliminating wild animals so that he only received search results for humans. He had enough trophies of rhinos and mutant ghost creatures to decorate three islands; he had no need for more. Besides, who was to say that the ghost child and Vlad Masters were the only ones possessing paranormal powers?

Success! Here was a man possessed by the spirits of his dead companions. Some Russel Hobbs guy. Skulker had heard his share of crackpots who claimed to have connections to the other side, but this guy seemed to be the real deal. According to his past, he had even been possessed by demons.

Skulker's hopes of locating another worthy were dashed when he found out moments later that the man wasn't under any form of possession any longer. Even worse, he was off the radar; no one knew where he was exactly.

The site he was on offered a variety of links to other pages on the site. Whatever he had been reading was a biography of some sort. With nothing better to do, and hoping another equally interesting person would be mentioned, he began looking around the site. There was a fan page; this man was a part of some group. A band, he soon discovered.

"Gorillaz?" the ghost exclaimed, amused and annoyed at the subtle reminder to another. "Hmm."

Hobbs was, or had been, the drummer. There were others: a young female guitarist, also missing, a green bassist, and a blue haired singer. What was stranger still about the vocalist was that he seemed to have no eyes, just two black holes. Currently they were all suffering an unofficial breakup from the pair of mysterious absences. To compensate, they had replaced the guitarist with a robotic copy. A computer supplied the drum beats.

The remaining band members were situated at a place called Plastic Beach. It was a floating mass of garbage, in the middle of the ocean, and it was as far as possible from any other landmass.

Skulker wasn't exactly sure if he would call the band rare, though they were without a doubt unique. One of a kind. Their current place of residence was both rare and unique, though he had no interest in collecting it.

He glanced out into the green abyss, noting the rainfall once more. He was so bored.

"I suppose I could pay these gorillas a visit…" he smiled.

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Skulker phased through the floor of the skull-like cave, sinking through rock until he found himself in a secure weapons vault, encased in more rock. Due to a… minor accident a few years back, the ghost had taken it upon himself to reinforce the area with steel, taken from earth. Still, it was never the same. It may be better, but he could never know for sure.

Right, it was time to focus. He would have to offload his large shoulder cannon to make room for the harpoon. Knowing he'd be flying across the ocean for some time was incentive enough for the ghost to prepare himself against any sort of sea monster. He almost anticipated such an attack, if only for the thrill. This would be the only weapon he would take. The best way to eliminate boredom, he decided, was to challenge oneself.

The hunt would begin.

"If only this blasted weather would die off!" he cursed.

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"I can't believe there hasn't been a single ghost attack all week," Danny said, sniffling. A second later he held the phone he had been speaking into away from his head, sneezing. "Ugh, I think my head's going to explode."

"Sorry to hear that." Tucker's voice answered from the phone. "Hey, I bet your cold scared them into not coming out. You know, like some ghost cold or something."

"Funny." Danny said in a flat tone, shuffling away from his window to collapse onto his unmade bed.

"You think it's from that weird rain in the Ghost Zone?"

Danny sniffed, rolling over to stare at the ceiling. "Who knows? I'd hate for that to be the cause; the rain was real dark. Nothing like water."

"You _were_ in it for about an hour." Tucker pressed. "Sam and I had to use two hairdryers to thaw you out."

"Wasn't my fault we got lost."

"…Oh, hey, Sam just sent me an email. She wants to know if it'd be possible for the three of use to go hang out at the Nasty Burger later. Why didn't she ask you herself?" he said the last part in a confused tone.

"I lost my phone. Could you tell her that I'm not going?"

"Not even for a triple nasty burger with fries?"

"Dude, there's nothing that can make me leave this room other than the bathroom."

"Right," Tucker laughed. "Ok then, see you later."

"Later." Danny sneezed, hanging up the house phone before burying his head in his pillow.

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AN: So how was it? I don't have the rest of the story planned out very well, only the skeleton of it… which I may change. Please leave a review so I know what people like about the story, or if there are any mistakes that need to be corrected!

Next chapter will, hopefully, introduce the Gorillaz! Stay tuned!

Edit: Forgot to mention this little thing... I have a game going for this story! Not much, I've just hidden Gorillaz song titles in the text. There's one in this chapter, but I'll have more in the following chapters. The titles can be from the three main cds and their side ones. The song "Plastic Beach" shouldn't really be counted, because I'll mention it multiple times throughout the story!


	2. Off to the supermarket

The morning was the same as any other morning, he decided. Getting up from bed and stretching a bit, Murdoc Niccals made his way to the large window looking out into the open sea. And so, after turning a hundred and eighty degrees and advancing two steps, he noted the severe lack of anything remotely appealing beyond the progressively dirtying pane. It was a stretch of flat water out there, only breaking when the water hit the edges of the beach, but he couldn't see that from his current viewpoint.

"Another day!" he said, nodding to himself before walking off to pull on a worn set of jeans. He searched around for a bit, locating his boots and tugging them onto his bare feet. Once done, Murdoc left for the lift. He for one was starving; something told him rum alone wouldn't do much to help.

The ride down to the kitchen was uneventful, quiet. Murdoc stepped out lightly, wary of the water that had accumulated before him, and made his way into the kitchen. He shuffled to the fridge, rubbing gunk from his eyes as he did so, and tore open the proper door to see a sorry sight. Either the other guys had been taking _his_ food, or he hadn't left to pick up more food in some time. The latter was the proper answer, but he would use the first if anyone were to ask him.

"Christ…" the man cursed, slamming the door before pivoting on his boots, which emanated a squeak of protest at this, to scan the room for any small morsel. An open pack of chips lay on a grubby counter, previously overlooked and now utterly helpless. Its fate was sealed.

Murdoc pounced on the bag, practically inhaling its contents greedily. They were quite odd… Lime and vinegar? Murdoc was too hungry to care. He kept eating until the bag was empty, throwing it to the floor before seizing a bottle of beer from the fridge to wash the repulsive flavor down with.

An impulsive thought ran through his mind at that moment, causing the aging man to pause and consider it. He hadn't seen his singer in some time, which was great. The cyborg had been entrusted by him with the grueling task of bringing food to the poor sod, though the task wasn't exactly enforced. It would be in the best interest of his band for Murdoc to go down to his room and at least make sure that he was still alive.

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Stuart Pot, known to many simply as 2D, was focused intently on the donkatron before him. Because of this, his mind failed to register the sound of the lift as it clamored down to his level of hell. He did, however, hear Murdoc as he loudly cursed at whatever piece of rubbish he had tripped over in the hall. It was most likely a chunk from the wall or ceiling. The younger man was convinced the whole place was falling apart, which filled him with dread. As far down as he was, he knew there was almost no chance of him making it to the surface if the walls broke open. His smoker's lungs would only permit him to be stop breathing for so long before leaving him to die in the water. The whale would surely get him before that.

He stubbornly closed his eyes at the thought, stamping the mental image of the whale out of his mind. The notion of forcing himself to take another nap, the best way to pass the time until he got a new movie to watch, suddenly sounded very appealing. It was at this moment that his mind, like a scolding mother, reminded him that Murdoc was on his way. 2D scrambled to his feet, grabbing his invention and stashing it on the other side of his bed, below the window. Flopping on the mattress before the door was unlocked, the man quickly arranged his composure into an expression of boredom and depression, which was all too easy, just in time for the green man to ease open the door. Murdoc shoved his face into the room, staring at 2D for a few seconds.

"Still alive then?" he finally asked, raising his eyebrows. 2D made a face.

"What are you getting at?" he demanded. Had he been expecting to find him dead?

"Nothing." The bassist said, waving a hand at him to shut him up.

"The cyborg's been giving you food and all?" he continued, mentally noting the state of the younger man before him and how thin he was. He eased the door open a little more. The captive singer stared at him, now unsure of where their conversation was heading.

"…Yes?" 2D said, drawing the word out due to the growing sense of confusion he now found himself in.

"Right," Murdoc said, pausing and looking off to the side at he rolled his words around on his tongue. 2D slowly sat up, focusing on the bassist as he sensed the importance of his visit. Exchanging a few choice words with Murdoc was rare; serious conversation, here on Plastic Beach, was unheard of. The pair was now fully aware of their mutual hatred towards each other. Murdoc sighed, absently kicking at 2D's stack of zombie movies and scattering them. Ignoring the scowl on the vocalist's face, he pursed his cracked lips before finally sighing. "Well, there is nothing upstairs to eat, so we're going to starve in a week or so." He announced simply, shrugging his shoulders in a would-be apologetic manner.

"_What_?" 2D shouted, aghast. "Murdoc, what the bloody hell?"

The bassist opened the door slightly, stepping in to look more official. "Quiet you. I'm leaving in the seaplane to get some food then, if you don't have any food stashed away in here." He added, looking about.

2D's stomach gave a slight rumble, blowing his cover in the process.

"Can I come?" he asked, hoping for the impossible. He stood up, the smallest of smiles adorning his pale face as he tried to look reassuring. The man's true intentions lay bare in his permanently bruised eyes however; he would run away the first chance he got once they were back on solid land. They both knew he'd try it. Still, he tried to persuade Murdoc.

"Uh, there'll be a lot to carry, right? I could help, and…" his voice died away when the bassist glanced at him, eyes narrowed.

"Taking the cyborg instead with you will leave the island unprotected, yeah?" he added lamely, his slow mind realizing that Murdoc had already called his bluff and was back outside of the underwater room. The door quickly slammed shut, as if 2D had been about to pounce on it and fight for his freedom.

"…Well, fuck you!" 2D shouted through the thick door, crossing his arms angrily as the faint sound of laughter met his ears. He stood there for a few moments, just in case Murdoc changed his mind and decided to let him come along. The green man didn't return, however. Now more than ever, the walls of his bedroom seemed to push inwards on him, reminding him of his captivity.

"That sod." 2D grumbled, scooting to the edge of his bed and pulling his knees up so he could rest his chin on them. Glumly, he listened to the lift as it struggled back up, frowning again. "He'd better get back quickly."

He knew this would be unlikely. While the island was something of a paradise to Murdoc, despite its landfill-like quality, it denied him the feminine company he had always loved. 2D expected him to be gone for at least a week.

If any good were to come from this, it would be that 2D was now certain that the man would not barge in for a few days, giving him plenty of time to work with the donkatron. He felt marginally lucky.

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Murdoc squinted in the sunlight as he made his way down to the plane. He had been joined by the cyborg, which was following him like a loyal puppy only because he hadn't told her to go away.

"Now, Cyborg, you may have to resort to killing one of those bloody talking birds if things start to get rough. Uh, say that there's no food at all, yeah? Humans need to eat; they can't charge like you."

"Yes, I am aware, Murdoc." The robot chirped in an emotionless tone.

Murdoc patted her head. "I know. Keep an eye on the dullard too, alright? He may try another stupid escape attempt when I'm away."

"Yes, Murdoc. Shall I keep him confined to his room?"

"Sure." Murdoc affirmed, wrapping a green hand around the handle to the seaplane's door.

"Murdoc, the seaplane is unavailable for use due to a malfunction concerning a damaged piston. I suggest taking the submarine."

"When did it break?" the man whined, releasing his grip on the handle to stalk away towards the submarine jetty. The hatch was flung open and Murdoc slid inside. Before shutting himself in, he yelled one more command back to his creation, which had stayed on the beach to avoid the possibility of getting hit with sea spray.

"Make sure to feed my fish!"

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2D figured his captor had changed his mode of transportation when he saw the shark-shaped vessel cut through the water somewhere far outside, under the water, right in line with his little window. This meant that the seaplane was still broken.

He recalled how that came to be, a rare smile on his lips. During one of his brief outdoor excursions he had managed to give his babysitter, the cyborg, the slip by accidentally splashing water on her. He took off for the other side of the island to get to the plane so he could try and hotwire it like a car. It failed, the man hardly knew how to drive a car anyway, but he acted like he had nothing to do with it when the cyborg discovered its state. The fact that Murdoc hadn't figured out the truth yet, much to the delight of the singer, was a mix of pure luck, sheer laziness, and a dash of stupidity.

Reality came back to the man when he stopped thinking of the past. The view of his room, his cell, filled his eyes, and he sighed sadly.

2D went to retrieve the hidden creation, poking it with the tip of a pale finger. Without the help of that strange bloke that had been showing up every now and again, he wasn't sure if he could even succeed with completing it; everything he needed to finish it seemed to be outside of his room. Cursing lightly, 2D fell back onto his bed, turning and burying his face into the lumpy pillow that rested there.

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	3. An Unexpected Guest

Tucker had been sitting on the stoop outside his house while he had been on the phone with Danny, and he was already walking towards the Nasty Burger before the conversation was finished. He had been friends with the halfa for so long that he already knew his answer.

The familiar burger joint was in sight, gleaming in the sun, when Tucker saw the familiar figure of Sam Manson run out the front doors. She hesitated, looking around before her wide violet eyes settled on Tucker's familiar red beret. Shouting his name, she took off running, skidding to a stop in her combat boots before him.

"Tucker, we can eat later!" she gasped, taking his arm. "We need to go to my house right now!"

The geek allowed her to drag him two feet before he pulled his arm free, running alongside her. He knew when to just ask, and not ask questions. Still, he couldn't help but ask one:

"What's wrong, Sam?"

Sam didn't answer, saving her breath. He narrowly avoided a collision with a fire hydrant, and then he followed her example and fell silent.

It took five minutes for them to make it to her house, practically breaking the front door before taking off for the kitchen. Sam shut the door to the room with a click. Breathing heavily, she collapsed into a chair at the table, seizing a glass and filling it with water from a pitcher that had been left sweating on the table. Another glass was offered to Tucker, accepted, and then Sam drank deeply from her glass.

"That was overdone, wasn't it?" she finally said. Tucker shrugged, smirking a little. Both of them knew that it was overly dramatic. "Sorry, I just heard some news, big news."

"The Nasty Burger switched to veggie burgers?" Tucker ventured, preparing for the worst. There weren't that many places to hang out at that also happened to have good food. Sam rolled her eyes.

"Not quite," she began, pulling a smartphone from her pocket. "I was waiting for you when I overheard some people from the school talking about something kind of weird. Do you know the band Gorillaz?"

Tucker bit his lip, trying to remember. "Uhh…. I'm not sure. Maybe" he said unconfidently, shrugging an apology.

"I've heard a few songs by them, but it's been awhile. Anyway, they were saying that one of the members of the band posted something on his Twitter account, so I turned to see what it was."

"I never took you as the nosy type."

"Me neither, but they got my attention when they quoted a post describing a huge metal guy with flaming green hair."

"I'm not following."

"It sounded like Skulker, Tucker, so I did a quick search to get the name of the band member with the Twitter account, and then I went to the account. Here." She turned the small glowing screen to face Tucker. She had the Twitter page up again, showing a colorfully worded post. "This Murdoc guy said that he thought it was some flying robot."

Tucker nodded, taking the smartphone from her so he could read the post, which was about a week old. Most of the other posts were about albums and the old tour they had apparently finished at some point, but there were actual comments scattered in between.

"So, what do you want to do about this?" Tucker glanced up from the phone to look at Sam. "Danny won't be around to help, you know, but it doesn't sound too serious anyway. It's kind of cool if you ask me."

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Skulker had seen the green man as he was climbing into a submarine, though he decided to let him go. It seemed like a waste of fuel to chase after him through the water. Besides, there were others on the island already, and he was curious enough to want to have a look around. He couldn't help but wonder when he would meet one of the gorillas.

"Intruder, state your purpose." A voice commanded, answering his question. Skulker raised an eyebrow, looking over his shoulder to see the petite figure of a girl. She didn't look too threatening, but the ghost knew who she was and what she was capable of. He had already turned himself intangible before she could fire off a shot. The bullet passed through the space that had been occupied by the head of his suit, but otherwise did nothing. This would be the opportune moment for the cyborg to become alarmed. She only lowered her weapon slightly, standing her ground with a calm posture to wait for the enemy to become solid once more.

"Intruder, state your purpose." She repeated, raising her weapon for emphasis. Skulker chuckled.

"Such a disappointment; I had hoped you would put up more of a fight." He chided, kicking the tiny robot away before shooting the harpoon at her. The weapon pierced her through the stomach before embedding itself deeply into the rough plastic ground of the island.

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Having given up on his invention until further notice, 2D decided to occupy his time by tampering with his door. He had been at it for the past hour, wriggling a steak knife, foolishly given to him with a rare evening meal by the cyborg ages ago, in the keyhole of the door. He was unaware of the fact that the keyhole was actually an ironic hole, already repaired by Murdoc but never actually filled in, and that a large wheel on the other side of the door served to move a thick bolt into place to lock him in.

Deeply focused on the task at hand, 2D was unprepared for the sudden noise from above his room, startling him. Unable to stop himself, the man flinched, cutting his free hand with the knife, which he immediately dropped. He brought the wound to his mouth, glaring up at the ceiling as he nursed the injury. Whatever the noise was, it was very similar to the sound a rabbit made when it was being killed. He was amazed that he was even able to hear it in the first place.

2D came to the conclusion that Murdoc must have kidnapped yet another hapless victim, and that said victim had fallen into the sea… where the whale then took it upon itself to mercilessly tear the poor person to shreds, as whales are known to do.

His bruised eyes widened at the thought, and he spun around to check the window by his bed. The flimsy curtains were pulled apart, revealing a seemingly innocent view of the sea. The whale wasn't in sight. This was enough to confirm his suspicions, inspiring him to put more effort into freeing himself. It was common knowledge that the whale hated him, so the creature would most likely go after him next. 2D wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, ignoring the cut, before picking it back up to get back to work. Here is where it all went wrong for him.

His hand closed on open air. The knife was gone.

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2D felt his eyebrows knit together, allowing for the frown already set into his face to deepen with confusion. Had he blacked out? He couldn't understand how the knife had seemingly decided to not be there anymore. Suddenly, a horrible thought overcame his senses: what was he going to get the door open with, now that it was gone? It wasn't exactly his way out, but it was the best tool he had to break open the door.

He didn't have to worry about its loss for long, because in the next instant he was swiftly knocked off his feet and sent stumbling backwards from an unseen force. His arms spun out like twin windmills in an effort to balance himself before gravity finally took over and sent him tumbling to the ground. 2D looked about wildly. The whole island was falling over! No, his mind chided, he was the only thing that had fallen. The man looked about in confusion, his empty eyes open wide. What was going on?

"Murdoc?" he ventured, hoping this was some trick; it would be a new one. He sat there for an awkward moment, biting his lip and trying to mentally prepare himself for the insane man, who had grown to be more and more unpredictable by the day it seemed. When he failed to receive an answer, the man got to his feet, grumbling. He then realized that he had, somehow, nearly fallen onto the Donkatron.

"Damn." He sighed, moving the invention back behind the bed just in case.

The vocalist returned to the door, searching around it to find his knife. He picked up a paint can to inspect the space beneath it, checked behind a couple of doodles taped to the wall, and scanned the floor, to no avail. His eyes fell back to the spot he had set the knife down at.

"I know I put it right there, so where is it?" he wondered aloud, nudging the carpet with his foot.

Like a loyal dog, the knife was instantly before him, pointing its sharp end at the point directly between his eyes. There was no trick; it hadn't been cast in any shadows. Simply put, the space in front of his face had been occupied by it, like magic. The blade twitched, jabbing at him, moving closer, and the man stumbled back clumsily to save himself. 2D cursed, hopping back a step when the thing had another go at him, and his heart began to race. He was used to zombies and could usually manage dealing with his captor and former idol, but this was different altogether. He didn't know what to make of it.

"Go on, sod off!" he ordered the knife, his voice betraying him. A deep voice chuckled. 2D took another step back without realizing it, convinced that his former knife had become possessed. "Bloody hell!"

2D was taken by surprise and he cursed once more, his voiced reduced to a child-like squeak. He was forced back a few more steps as the blade began threatening him once more, making a face when he felt the back of his legs collide with the edge of his bed. Was this thing going to kill him then, gut him over his own bed? Murdoc would certainly manage to find some horrible way to pin the deed on the vocalist as a final act of hatred towards him, just for the fun of it.

"Don't kill me!" he said to the knife, leaning back away from it enough that he quickly lost his balance and fell backwards. At least he would land on something soft, he decided, feeling that the moment called for some optimism.

As if to correct the man, a large invisible hand seized him by the front of his purple shirt, hoisting him into the air high enough so that his toes just brushed the top of the bed. The knife moved slowly now, stopping when it was under his chin. Here, it pushed its sharp edge into his pale skin, breaking through enough to draw blood. 2D bit his lip but otherwise didn't move out of sheer terror of getting his throat split. He shut his eyes, cursing as he felt the smallest trickle of his own blood run down his neck as the blade was brought closer.

"You should consider yourself lucky." The deep voice announced with an obvious sneer in the voice. 2D's eyes popped back open, glancing over this way and that to try again and determine the origin of the voice.

"I believe you are the first true human that I have ever hunted. For your sake, I hope you put up a fight."

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	4. Swimming

"You are all alone on this island," Skulker continued. The knife was pulled back, allowing the singer to breathe again. 2D opened his mouth to retort, but was roughly shaken by the ghost. Suddenly wise, he fell silent. "Your green companion is out, the robot is down," 2D almost smiled at this "and all others are too absorbed in their own tasks to notice you."

"Wait, then Dave is still here, right?" 2D said after an extended moment of silence, his spark of common sense extinguished. "I mean, I'm not really _alone_ alone if there's a bloke working on the electric someplace else, am I?"

The ghost fell silent, and the knife was returned to the man's throat. Skulker was amazed at how composed the human was. True, he was a little rattled at first, but once he had figured out what was going on, he had calmed down. He tried to terrify him once more by regaining his visibility.

"Aww, you're just a robot. Murdoc put you up to this, didn't he?" 2D said softly, trying to keep the blade from aggravating his skin again. He looked a little uncomfortable, but not too scared. "Is it April Fool's Day?" he added, shrinking away as best as he could as Skulker pulled his thin body towards his metallic face. The ghost snarled, glaring in anger.

"I am Skulker, Ghost Zone's greatest predator!" he announced. To punctuate this, he threw the knife away roughly. 2D followed it with his eyes, flinching slightly when it embedded it into the wall.

"You're a hunter?" 2D asked, squirming in the ghosts' powerful grasp. Memories of childhood cartoons with hunters and rabbits filled his mind. "Why are you here then?"

"I am a collector of things rare and unique."

"You've lost me." 2D admitted. Skulker rolled his eyes before flinging the man away, sending him across the room. 2D crashed into his life size model of Spiderman, knocking the pair of them to the ground.

"What the hell?" he protested. "Is that what you do to everyone, eh? Rough 'em up a bit?"

"As I have said, I am a hunter. My usual prey is unavailable, so I searched to find something, someone, to bide my time with."

2D groaned to himself, pushing the mannequin off of him before getting to his feet. Standing up to his full height, he was able to stare at the intruder eye to eye. The ghost considered his change in attitude, assuming the man was making an attempt at standing up for himself. 2D's expression fell into a curious and clearly annoyed frown after a moment in which Skulker did nothing to assert his dominance over the situation. The expression turned to wonder as the ghost took a few steps away from the door before turning to face it. A metallic hand was raised; a ball of ectoplasmic energy summoned… and the door was blasted away. 2D's cage was open.

Skulker sneered, staring at his prey. The act had been to display his power, the door and its frame had been completely destroyed after all, but the vocalist, giddy with happiness and stupid from it, shoved past Skulker and raced from his room instead.

"Hey, thanks!" he called over his shoulder before racing up a set of poorly hidden stairs.

"Get back here, you punk!" Skulker snarled, chasing after the fleeing man. He only heard the swiftly retreating footsteps of the man, and a whoop of glee. Skulker turned his body intangible, phasing through the floors to cut the man off. As he had guessed, 2D had charged out of the door leading towards the main entrance of the island. He was already at the base of the stairs, running across the pink landscape. Skulker hung back, considering his options and choosing to simply stalk the idiot for a minute in an attempt to try and learn something useful about him.

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Tucker took back what he had said as the Twitter account updated itself.

"_MAYDAY! Faceache on the loose!"_

"Well, that was fast." The boy commented, looking up at Sam. "But that other post was put up a few days ago. Hey, we're on the same page that a celebrity is on at the same time!"

"That's great Tucker," Sam sighed, though it was clear that she didn't care. "Stay there and see if he says anything else."

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2D was flying down the beach, tripping over odd piles of rubbish as he went. The cyborg gurgled at him when he raced past, but he only pulled a face at her as he went, heading for the subs. There was still the little submarine, waiting in the water for him, it seemed.

The water.

Where was the whale? 2D came to a skidding halt, shuffling over to seek refuge under a plastic tree. Stupidly, he clung to it, wondering for a moment if it would be best to climb the thing to get a better view of the sea and his greatest foe- other than Murdoc. He bit his lip, scanning the area. There was the cyborg, twitching now over to his left, and the jetty was before him, a little to the right. Straight ahead was the sea. Did he dare? No, he'd rather not… But his freedom depended on it! 2D took in a deep breath before releasing his death grip on the tree, and then set off at a pace identical to an unarmed man approaching a bomb- slow and hesitant. It seemed to take ages, but at last his hands fell upon the warm surface of his ticket to freedom. Grinning, he pulled at the top to open the door, his grin falling when he registered the fact that something was wrong. He moved his hands back, inspecting the hatch with wide eyes.

"Damn!" he howled, pulling at his hair in frustration. The hatch had a thick lock on it, no doubt a courtesy of Murdoc. Who was even around to steal the thing? 2D was the sole person with an actual motive to want to _leave_ the stinking place, and he was only out here because his captor was out getting food and some ghost had blasted his door down. It wasn't exactly something that happened every day. Murdoc must have planned on the possibility of this happening though, clever bastard; there was no other reason for it.

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Danny gave a start as the fanfare to a video game thundered in his ears, recognizing the ringtone for his cell phone, sneezing as he awoke and stiffly rose from a halo of used tissues. He pried his arms free of the blanket cocoon he had wrapped himself in before blearily groping for his cell phone beside his bed. The screen was glowing, revealing the caller to be Tucker. With a sniff, he answered.

"What?" he demanded thickly into the receiver. Any harsh tone to his voice had been lost in another sneeze, and he missed what Tucker had announced. "Sorry, I didn't catch what you just said."

"I said that Sam and I think that Skulker is hunting rock stars."

"That's new. I hope I haven't done anything to upset him; he hasn't been after me for some time. No, I was kidding, Tuck. So, what's the problem?"

"Nothing yet, I think. It's just weird, you know? Sam and I are trying to figure out a motive."

"You're that bored? He must be."

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Skulker allowed the bluehead to get to the sub; he had correctly guessed that it would be locked, before interfering once more. He did this because he had noticed the odd behavior of the man as he had run down the beach. Something in the water troubled the man, but what was it? It was time to find out, and maybe get some revenge. Skulker sneered as he recalled how the singer had hardly shivered when _he_, Ghost Zone's greatest predator, had announced himself and his motive. The man was a complete fool! Regaining tangibility, he flew at the singer, seizing him by the arm before flying up into the air. He had moved so quickly that by the time 2D screamed in alarm, they were already over the glassy surface of the sea, sweeping up into the air, higher and higher.

2D began shouting curses at him, clinging to his arm. Clearly, he was not enjoying the ride, but Skulker could care less. The ghost was actually _laughing_ at 2D's misfortune, finding the event to be enjoyable. Things went from bad to worse, by the singer's standards, when the ghost decided to turn his robotic body intangible for a moment, thus dropping 2D. The man fell like a stone down towards the sea, his arms and legs flailing wildly as he shrieked in terror, and was only saved from a painful impact when the paranormal robot appeared beside him once more, seizing him around the middle.

"What was that for?" 2D gasped, his voice shaking as he fought to get air back into his wheezy lungs. Skulker's arm was about as soft as a refrigerator, so the man just knew he'd be waking up the next day with a lovely bruise across his stomach. The singer clung to his arm, biting his lip as he studied the water below. He swore to himself that the whale was there, just below the surface, waiting for him. "Do you have any idea- aghh!"

Skulker only smirked, shutting 2D up by dropping him once more, allowing him to fall the final three feet before crashing loudly down into the water. The effect was immediate, and the vocalist became hysterical, splashing around as his eyes frantically searched for the shortest route to land when his head broke the surface.

"Get me out!" 2D screeched, going under for a second before reappearing. Skulker assumed this was aimed at him. "Get me the fuck out of here! That bloody whale's gonna _eat_ me!"

Skulker openly laughed, knowing that whale's didn't prey on humans, that no whale had actually consumed a human before. He didn't know that the whale, employed by Murdoc, had an eye on the terrified singer, wondering all the while if it was worth it to just swallow him whole.

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	5. Rescue

"So, assuming that Skulker was at this Murdoc guys place a week ago," Tucker began after ending the call with Danny, only to be interrupted by Sam.

"I don't think he's still there, there'd be no real reason for him to stay for so long."

Tucker nodded. "Yeah, I was just wondering if he had gone anywhere else, you know? Other celebs could be in danger." He said, though his voice lacked the proper concern.

Sam snorted. "Yeah, 'Ke$sha goes missing'. That'd just be terrible." She added sarcastically.

"The Twitter account just updated itself." Tucker announced, presenting the screen to Sam. "He's gone on a search for '2D' or something; he's been repairing a cyborg for a few days and now he's bringing it with him. That sounds awesome."

Sam rolled her eyes as Tucker lapsed into a technological dream. She plucked the phone from his hands all too easily, returning it to her pocket.

"Come on, Tucker, let's go find an actual computer, this phone screen is too small."

Shaking his head, Tucker returned to the land of the living. Together they made their way up to Sam's room, the only place in the house where they could use a computer without having her parents breathing over their shoulders.

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Murdoc felt foolish. Twenty minutes into his underwater adventure found him realizing that he had left his wallet behind. His chances at saving himself and his stupid singer from starvation would be next to nothing if he hadn't the money to buy even a pack of cigarettes! That Dave fellow, the shady guy he hired, would he need food too? Better not, that man was all alone; it said so in the job description.

The bassist left the controls to search every nook and cranny for a spare bit of money. In the end he was rewarded with a few pounds, but it wasn't anything to cheer about by his standards. And so, with a grumble, he made his way back to the controls, steering back towards Point Nemo. He steered towards the docks with precision, coming up out of the water before flinging the hatch open to exit the submarine. To say he was surprised, when he saw his island, was an understatement. His stupid singer had somehow managed to break out of his room again, and was racing around the island, heading predictably for the front door, screaming like a little school girl. The lanky man was soaking wet, leaving Murdoc to assume that he had tried to swim away before the whale got too close. As if to correct him, the large figure of Skulker shot past, making a beeline for 2D, who was by then out of sight. The poor vocalist had just managed to race up the steps to the front door before his body became tangled in a glowing green net. There wasn't even enough time to stumble to the ground before he was dragged away from it, up in the air. The line connecting the net to Skulker went taut, closing the space until 2D was hanging beside his knee.

"I take it that you are another member of this band?" Skulker asked Murdoc, suddenly phasing before him.

The green bassist puffed out his chest proudly. "I am. Leader and bassist, mind you." He said. 2D squirmed in his trap, cursing when he found that his too-long limbs failed to give him any room in the tight space. Murdoc's eyes fell on him for a brief moment before shooting back to Skulker.

"So, what brought you to snag my vocalist, hmm? An autograph, perhaps?"

"No, I am only a hunter, hunting prey."

Warning bells began to go off in Murdoc's head. The loss of his singer would mean the loss of the band, and the women and money that came with it. "Hunter?" he pressed. "Like, mounting heads on the wall?"

"To a certain extent, yes."

"Hunting _people_?" the Satanist ventured.

"Anything rare and unique."

2D had just begun to feel hopeful when Murdoc began laughing. It was as if he were hearing the nails being driven into his own casket. He began yelling obscenities at the man.

"Shut it, you!" Murdoc spat. He kicked at the trapped man. 2D cried out, eventually falling silent as Murdoc began speaking with Skulker again.

"I don't see how you could find 2D to be _special_ enough to kill. He's nothing special. Damaged goods, if you know what I mean." Murdoc said, ignoring 2D's cry of protest.

Skulker raised an eyebrow. "Damaged how?" he asked slowly. He knew that the green man before him worked with the one in the net. He could be lying in order to protect him.

"He's got special needs, mate, his head is full of dents. If you want, I could direct you towards a fellow who is ten times more valuable than this pile of rubbish. What do you say?" Murdoc smiled, exposing his green teeth.

"I'm listening." Skulker said. Murdoc immediately began explaining his offer.

"Right, our drummer somehow managed to grow into the size of a giant. He's swimming out this way now; saw him with my own eyes. He's about as tall as six of this guy." Murdoc explained, pointing towards 2D.

"You tell me, mate: how many people do you meet who are that massive, eh?"

Skulker allowed his armor to relax enough that he sank the last foot back to solid ground. Locking his gaze with Murdoc's, he began staring into the man, trying to see if he was worth trusting. For some horribly foolish reason, the ghost decided to trust him, if only a little.

"Why would you sell out a member of your own group?" he demanded, glancing out across the sea.

"We sort of split up a while back, you know how things are."

Skulker was torn. He knew it was downright irresponsible to leave prey behind, no matter what, but there was no way he could manage to catch Hobbs with the blue haired man hanging from his arm. Growling under his breath, he cut the line free. Then, more to intimidate Murdoc than anything else, he seized the man by the front of his grubby shirt, hoisting him into the air.

"If I don't find this man I will be coming back here. Do not think you can hide from me."

With that said and done, he released the bassist and took to the air, flying away. Seconds later, the glowing net and line dissipated, freeing 2D. The vocalist got to his feet awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Err, Murdoc?" he asked in a hesitant voice.

"…What, faceache?" the man grumbled, already walking away.

"That wasn't you're robot then, was it?"

"Why the hell would I build something like that?" Murdoc spat.

"I dunno, it just reminded me of that cyborg." 2d muttered. Murdoc blinked.

"How did that thing get past her anyway, eh?" he asked aloud, more to himself than to 2D.

"He shot a harpoon at her. Got her right through the middle, it did."

"_What_?"

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Research had been more interesting than the teens had first thought. What had begun as a general search through Youtube mutated into a particular search through Wikipedia.

"They live on a floating landfill!" Sam said, appalled at the thought.

"Only two of them; and one is there against his will." Tucker corrected, pointing to the glowing screen. "There's that cyborg too, remember!"

"They can't be serious…"

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Due to the recent increase in madness at Fenton Works, involving Danny and his slowly deteriorating control over his powers, the unfortunate boys' door had become something akin to a set of revolving doors. Not three minutes had passed from his sisters' concerned, not nosey, visit before he accidentally shot ectoplasmic beams from his eyes, knocking a set of books off their shelf set on the wall across from him.

Panicking, Danny seized the nearest item, a spent tissue box, and hurled it towards the fallen books. Just in time too. He had just returned his arm to the warm cocoon of his blanket before his father barged into the room, ecto guns blazing.

"Everything alright, Danny?" he asked. "I thought I heard something."

"Sorry dad," Danny sneezed "There was a fly over there, a real big one, so I threw that box at it to scare it away." He said, feeling stupid at the poor lie.

"That's my boy! Hah, quite an arm you've got there, huh?" Jack said, beaming. He crossed the room to clap a congratulatory hand on his sons shoulder.

"I-I guess."

"Well, back to the kitchen! Your mother is baking some cookies and I'll be darned if I'm not the first one to try them out!"

Jack grinned again before running from the room, shutting the door behind him. Danny closed his eyes, breathing out slowly. He knew that that could have easily been a close call if someone had entered the room only seconds earlier.

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True to his character, Murdoc didn't miss a beat before landing a solid punch to 2D's face, sending the poor man to the ground. To follow up, he kicked him in the side before stalking off to locate his fallen creation.

"Go to your room, 2D, and stay there." He called over his shoulder.

"Why should I, eh?" the vocalist shot back, rebellious. Murdoc froze, slowly turning on his heel to face the man again.

"Just do it, you blubbering idiot!" he shouted.

2D flinched, otherwise staying where he was. Murdoc growled, advancing towards him until the frightened man finally raced away. The front door slammed behind him.

Satisfied, Murdoc began the grim search for the cyborg. It took some effort on his part to tear the foreign weapon from her mechanical body, though it passed soon enough. Before he knew it he was back in her closet, repairing the worst of the injuries. An hour passed, then two, before he was interrupted.

"So, when are you going to get the food?" 2D asked, poking his head into the room. Murdoc's head shot up in surprise.

"How the fuck did you get in here?" he demanded. 2d shrugged.

"That robot shot my door down. I dunno, maybe he's not all bad then? Anyway, I was getting hungry, don't know about you, and I thought that-" he continued, babbling on until Murdoc threw a rotten potato at him to get him to shut up.

"I need to get her stable before I even think of leaving. Get out of my hair, why don't you?"

"Fine by me."

"Don't go outside." Murdoc ordered, getting the other man to pause.

"Why?" 2D asked. It was as though he had no understanding as to what had almost happened to him earlier. The bassist grinned evilly.

"Because I've paid the whale double, dullard. I don't think he'll want to see you anytime soon."


	6. Singer Snatched

In the end, Murdoc decided that he'd rather not risk it. He locked 2D up in the war room to make sure that he wouldn't do anything stupid. He had never paid the whale double, it was foolish, and yet he somehow knew it wouldn't be enough to scare the younger man into staying indoors. Mentally, the bassist wrote a memo to himself, a reminder to build a second war room. He was forced to move the book and a few other choice items to his own room, lest they be ruined by the vocalist. At the last moment, he also unplugged all the computers; he didn't want 2D mucking them up.

Russel, he knew, would be able to hold his own if the robot managed to find him. Hell, it would do the drummer good to get some more exercise, Murdoc decided, as if swimming to Plastic Beach wasn't enough. He guessed that he'd have two, maybe three days at most, before the metal man returned. In that time, he had to repair the cyborg. She would do a better job any day at holding the fort down that he, or 2D, ever would.

"Bloody harpoon," Murdoc growled. Presently he was back working on the cyborg, his fingers moving swiftly to connect wires, weld broken bits of metal back together, as well as add a few upgrades. He took the time to add armor under the "skin" covering her torso. It wasn't enough to properly stop a harpoon, but he figured that the odds of that happening again were very slim. At last, three more hours later, Murdoc had the cyborg stabilized. She was still in a state very similar to sleep, so Murdoc plugged her in to fully charge before leaving for the lift.

He was certain that he had left his wallet in his room. If it wasn't there, then it would have to be in the study, or the studio, if that was wrong as well. It was somewhere on the goddamn island at least, he'd find it eventually.

"Oi, Dave," he asked, pausing before the lift. It couldn't hurt to ask. The possible murderer appeared from amidst a pile of broken rubbish, frying pan in hand.

"Yeah, boss?" he asked.

"Haven't seen my wallet around, have you?"

"Can't say I have, sorry."

"Right," Murdoc sighed, rolling his eyes as he stepped into the lift, pressing the button to take him to the study. How was it that he was the one who always had to put the most effort into everything? Oh well. The sooner he located the square of leather, the better.

As if to make matters worse, 2D had been situated just on the other side of the bookshelf for some time. He must have heard the lift doors open, for he began to whine.

"Murdoc, when can I leave?" his voice demanded. Making a face, Murdoc went out of his way to kick the stupid bookshelf.

"When I say so, now shut it." he snarled.

2D made noise of surprise, quickly scurrying away from the hidden door before it could be dealt with more abuse. Satisfied with the silence, Murdoc began his search of the room, starting with the fish tank. Like clockwork, he was interrupted once more.

"Murdoc, when are you leaving to get the bloody food?" 2D said, obviously impatient and very hungry.

"I need to find my damn wallet, faceache!"

"Oh. Well, why didn't you do that earlier? Could have saved us a load of grief if you did." 2D stated wisely.

"…Are you _ever_ aware of just how _stupid_ you are?" Murdoc retorted, his voice loud as he began to search the desk across the room. "I mean, if I hadn't of come back for the thing, then that bloody robot would've carried you off! Where would the band be then, eh?"

2D pondered the thought. "Oh, yeah, right. Thanks for that, I guess." He fell silent once more, focusing on the noises made as Murdoc began to throw things about.

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2D assumed Murdoc had found his wallet when he faintly heard the cry of triumph from far away, most likely in his captor's bedroom. As the lift clamored down to the main exit the singer crossed his fingers, hoping that Murdoc would return before he died of starvation.

He stretched, hearing his spine crack from the movement. Sitting sprawled out on the stairs wasn't exactly doing wonders for him, so he rose to his feet. There was a small amount of light, hardly enough to go by, coming from the room at the bottom of the stairs, and he used it to locate the back of the bookcase. Pressing his palms against the wooden surface, 2D shoved, trying to get the door to open. There was some technique, some secret he was missing because everything he tried only ended in failure. 2D sighed in defeat, resting his forehead against the stubborn wall.

"_Urrgbghh_…" his stomach protested.

"Shut it, you." The singer said, miserably.

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Skulker had been out in the hot sun for what seemed like days when a piece of machinery went off in his head. At the request of Ember, his girlfriend, he had installed a cell phone of sorts. It wasn't handy for the hunter. In reality, it was more of a nuisance than anything, but he knew better than to keep the undead rocker waiting.

"Yes?" he answered, as if speaking to a person before him. A speaker in the suits mouth picked up his speech, sending it to the other line.

"Hey, Skulk, I'm heading over to your place now, okay?" Ember announced. "Are you there?"

"I'm out right now, in the human world."

Ember made a noise of approval. "Going after Baby Pop?"

"He's still ill. It's just be embarrassing for me to go after him like that. Too easy."

"Aww, you need a challenge, huh?"

"I won't accept anything less."

"Well, who's the lucky guy now?"

"Several, actually, some gorillas."

"You're back to hunting animals? Sort of a step down, wouldn't you say?"

"No, it's a band."

"You're kidding me."

"No, they are quite rare and unique."

"So, who are you getting? Are you going to bring them here?"

"Well, if it would make you happy, I could bring them to you,"

"That'd be great! Just don't, you know, kill them, okay? Thanks!" Ember said, her tone suddenly ecstatic. She ended the call with a very audible kiss, and Skulker was left in silence.

He had never heard her so… happy.

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At Tucker's suggestion, they went back to YouTube to watch a proper music video by the group. Sam scrolled through the page, finally selecting an older one titled Feel Good Inc. As the video began to play, the pair leaned in a few inches closer to the screen. They remained like this for most of the video, other than Tucker taking the time to comment about the size of the tower and the fact that there was a floating chunk of land outside its window, curiosity towards the new music taking over. When it was finally over, Sam came to a decision.

"I like this band." She announced. "I get what they're saying here. We should go and see if their singer really is stuck in the Ghost Zone."

Tucker shrugged. "I guess, but what about Danny, and his family? We can't just stroll into his parents' lab and take the Speeder into the Zone."

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Skulker decided to call it quits after ending the call with Ember. He felt something like happiness when he heard the happiness in her voice, and he suddenly wanted to see her smile. He turned around and put on some speed, returning to Plastic Beach.

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2D, having lost interest in standing in near darkness, retreated to the war room to wait out Murdoc's return. He prodded one of the many computer monitors that resided there, wishing it was on so that he could occupy his time. The plug, clearly out of its socket, went unnoticed in its dusty corner.

Pouting, 2D leaned against the large war table, and then sat up on the edge. Might as well get off of his feet, he decided, and wait for Murdoc to return. He eyed the set of monitors, seeing his reflection in the one directly facing him.

"Damn," 2D said, leaning forward. His face was already beginning to bruise, the purple mess forming just along his cheekbone under his left eye. He raised a pale hand, lightly prodding the area with a finger, wincing as he did so. How he wished for a few painkillers! They were safely tucked away in his underwater hellhole of a room, unnoticed by Murdoc, as well as a box or two of cigarettes, another thing he longed for. Perhaps he could find some here? After all, Murdoc spent hours at a time down in this very room, or so it seemed. 2D touched his feet back to the ground, pushing away from the table to begin a search of the room. And who knows, he gleefully thought to himself. There could be a small morsel of food down here that had managed to go unnoticed by the mad bassist.

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Skulker touched back down on the pink shores of Plastic Beach, a characteristic frown set deeply into his mechanical face.

"That green oaf!" he cursed. "When I get my hands on him, I'll tear his throat out!"

Skulker would freely admit, in the safe confines of his own mind, that he had been tricked or distracted by the ghost child and his two friends before, but those events were nothing compared to this. A total stranger had bested him, like a professional at no less! He wished to leave the island in such a state that it would take the man ages to notice that his precious vocalist had gone missing, but he knew that if the man were to notice the place in ruins, he'd race to find the stupid singer first. It would be light installing neon light on the roof, pointless.

Skulker flew to the top of the white lighthouse, standing atop the glass dome like a war hero so as to take in the horribly beautiful sight that was Plastic Beach.

So… where were the gorillas now?

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2D had succeeded in locating a portion of a cigarette, burnt and partially consumed before being prematurely smothered. It was great and all if he were truly desperate, he knew who had started it and had no want to smoke it because of that. Besides, there was no way to properly light the damn thing. Frowning, 2D flung it back into a corner. His stomach growled once more, and he sank to the cool floor, resting against the war table. From there he began to stare at the blue door, bored.

It was during this point in time when he saw a black orb fall through the door, landing on the floor with a light thud. 2D starred at it for what seemed like too long, his eyebrows shooting up when a series of red light began to glow on the orb.

"Murdoc…?" he asked slowly. The man was unable to see the ghost just outside the door, completely missed the arm that invisibly and intangibly passed through the door to deposit the orb. There was no way he could see the way Skulker raised a hand over a set of buttons set in the opposite arm, or see how he pressed a specific one.

At once the orb reacted, emitting a dark fog into the air. 2D gave a squeal of shock, leaping to his feet to scurry over to the opposite end of the room. He pressed his back into the wall watching with wide eyes as the smoke curled towards him.

"Uh, hunter-bot?" 2D coughed, feeling a drag in his mind quite similar to the fuzzy haze he'd get when he took too many pills at once. "Skulk..er? What is this?"

2D's knees wobbled, finally giving out. His head fell, now level with the worst of the smoke that grew to fill the room. He shook his head, terrified because he thought that he was actually dying. A pale hand rose to cover his nose and mouth, but it did nothing to help. His entire body began to grow heavy, and he fell forward onto the ground. He tried his best to move his head towards the obvious sound of footsteps heading his way, but he was unable to. There was no real need to, for Skulker moved to stand before him, grinning.

"Did you think you could hide?" Skulker chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. The smile grew as he watched 2D's bruised eyes finally close in forced sleep.

"You should know one thing: Skulker always gets his man."


	7. A Whole New World

Murdoc had no idea what she was saying, but he had the sense to act like he gave a shit. Hell, this was a _woman_. Satan knew when he'd see one again after returning to Point Nemo, let alone score one as sexy as this.

This was to be his last night out in… wherever he was. The sub was already overloaded with food and other necessities, and he planned on leaving right after he had had his fun with this woman. He'd been away from home for a day and a half, almost too long.

If 2D starved to death in his absence he'd kill him.

The woman giggled, subtly bringing the man out of his thoughts and returning his full attention to her, which is what she preferred. He smiled.

"Hey love, why don't we go off somewhere nice and quiet, eh?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. The woman was only too happy to oblige.

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Sam and Tucker left the house to walk the distance to Danny's home, stopping at the front door to knock before the boy's father opened the door swiftly. Both of the teens backed up a step when the barrel of some ecto gun was thrust into their faces.

Mr. Fenton, upon realizing that he was threatening minors and not ghosts, quickly lowered the weapon. Looking slightly embarrassed, he greeted them before stepping aside to let them in.

"I'd be careful if I were you, kids, Danny's still sick," he called to them, watching as they ran up the stairs. Lucky for them, Mrs. Fenton was out buying cough medicine, so she wasn't there to forbid them from seeing Danny and possibly catching whatever he had in the process.

Sam got to the door first, knocking before entering. There was a moment of tense silence, and then the halfa gave a start.

"Whozzat?" he sneezed.

"Danny, it's us," Sam said, opening the door. "How are you feeling?"

The raven haired boy gave her a look.

"Sorry, standard question."

Tucker squeezed past Sam to get into the room before shutting the door. The teens had grown to realize that this was a wise move, owing to the fact that Danny's family could walk past the door at any moment. If they were discussing ghosts, which they were about half of the time, then they preferred to have the illusion of privacy.

"Hey man, do you think you could get us into the Ghost Zone?" Tucker asked, deciding to get right to the point.

"What for?" Danny asked, burrowing further into his blankets. "Are you going after that celebrity?"

"We think he's there, at Skulker's place." Sam said. "We're the only ones who know about him being there I think, and probably the only ones who could get him out."

"Totally unlike you, Sam. I thought the hero thing was my job." Danny grinned.

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Murdoc, satisfied, gave the woman a few bills, each of a varying amount, before leaving for the sub. It took some tight maneuvering on his part, but the bassist was at the controls and swimming away in a matter of minutes. He swept past moored ships, making a beeline for the open sea. He was beginning to regret locking 2D in the war room. The idiot could break free of his own room; he had several times, but was more or less screwed being in the war room. There wasn't even the slight possibility that he had gotten loose to get something to drink.

"Damn, sodding idiot." Murdoc growled, putting on some more speed. It wasn't that he was worried for the poor man's safety. Rather, he was reminded once more that his death would mark the end of the band. He'd never say it aloud, but there was only one 2D, one singer for Gorillaz. Anyone else was just rubbish.

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Hours later, Murdoc arrived back at Plastic Beach. The Cyborg, more or less stable, but still in no condition to be of service, was locked away in her closet, leaving the man alone in the task of unloading the food. Scratch that, he'd go and get 2D and make him do it.

Walking with a purpose in his step, the bassist raced across the pink beach, entering the main door directly. Pushing aside a pile of useless junk, he revealed one of the several sets of not-so-hidden stairways. This one led straight into the study, exiting via a trapdoor under the desk, which the man impatiently flung open.

"Hey, Two-dents, guess whose back?" Murdoc called, approaching the door. He pushed on _The Bastard_, opening the secret door to find that the steps were open. "I should have known that he'd make this difficult," he grumbled, descending into the war room. The unfortunate door was kicked open with the heel of Murdoc's boot, and the man stormed in.

The room was empty.

For a brief moment in time, Murdoc was silent, not even daring to breathe, and then that moment ended. With a screech Murdoc lashed out, kicking the war table. The singer wasn't smart enough to pull a Houdini stunt like this; he couldn't even understand how the simplest magic trick worked.

Someone else had a hand in this.

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Danny suggested that his friends make a scene as they left his room, so as to make it obvious to his father that they were no longer up there, before he brought them down into the lab.

Gleefully, Tucker took the lead, running from the room. Sam turned to face Danny, smiling and nodding before following the other boy out and down to the living room.

"See you later, Mr. Fenton!" Tucker said. "We're going to go and get Danny a CD to cheer him up!"

"Ohh, good idea! Can I come?" Mr. Fenton beamed. The teens shared a glance, they hadn't been expecting this.

"Uhh," Sam began, rubbing the back of her neck. "Shouldn't someone stay here in case Danny needs something?"

"Oh, right."

"You're the best man for the job anyway! See you later!" Tucker said, leaving with Sam out the front door. As instructed, they stood under Danny's window, out of sight if Mr. Fenton were to open the door. The halfa suddenly appeared behind them, wrapping an arm around each of their waists before flying them down into the lab. He quickly unlocked the portal, sneezed, and turned his head to face the other teens, who had by then gotten into the Specter Speeder.

"You know where to go then?" he asked. They nodded, and he got back into the air. "Sure you don't need me?"

"Danny, we'll be fine. We aren't even sure if the guy is in there." Sam reassured him.

"Yeah, we're only, like, half a percent away from being sure, but there's always that little room for error." Tucker added, rolling his eyes in a joking manner.

"You should go back to your bed. The sooner you beat this ghost cold, the better." Sam said.

Seeming to agree, Danny waved to them a final time before flying up through the ceiling. Sam watched him go with slight interest.

"I can't believe he left so willingly." She admitted.

"Ten bucks says he'll be following us anyway." Tucker sighed, steering the floating craft into the Ghost Zone. "Give it a few minutes."

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Eleven minutes later, Danny, still in ghost mode, stood in front of the portal. He wore a red hoodie over his black and white suit; more to make him think that it was keeping him warm than anything else. It didn't make a difference while he was in his ghost form. Sneezing once more, the boy opened the large door, flying into the Ghost Zone before he could convince himself otherwise. He caught up with the Speeder easily enough, though he kept his body invisible for obvious reasons.

Eventually the Speeder landed on a remote edge of Skulker's island. Sam and Tucker exited it quietly before going off into the stand of dead trees before them. Apparently they had formed a plan on the way over, though it wasn't working very well.

"Guys, the skull cave is this way. That's probably where this guy will be." Danny said, blowing his cover willingly. "The way you're going only leads you to a load of traps."

"Told you he'd come," Tucker whispered to Sam. They followed him easily enough, slightly relieved that he was there to guide them, but knowing that it was still a stupid move on his part.

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A few days previous, Skulker landed at the base of the same cave, the unconscious form of 2D slumped over in a glowing blue box that had been brought along. The ghost set the thing down, pressing a button on his arm to remove the box. He failed to see why Ember would want the human alive; he was nothing more than an idiot.

He'd let her have her fun with him, to a certain extent, before finishing what he had started. She probably only wanted to do a song or something with him, he suddenly realized. After all, Skulker himself couldn't carry a tune, and this man was from a famous band. A shadow of jealousy flickered through what would have been his heart, and he stared down his nose at the bluehead, sneering before stalking away to find Ember. He knew the man wouldn't wake up for a few more minutes at least, and carrying him all this way had drained him of too much energy already.

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Ember, of course, was on the other end of the island. She had found some weak ghosts trying to steal her guitar strings to use later as dental floss, and was beating them off the island. Skulker hung back, slightly turned on by her anger. He also had the common sense to not interrupt her when she was in a mood. The glowing guitarist ended by kicking the last of the vermin off with her boot. A few tense moments passed, and then Skulker felt that it was safe to make his presence known.

"Ember, I've returned." He announced, walking towards her. At once her mood changed. Her hands, balled tightly into fists, extended, and she turned around to embrace him. Standing up on her toes, she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Hey, you have then! 'bout time. Did you bring me a Gorilla or two?"

"Just one. I can't imagine why you'd want him though, he's a complete fool."

Ember smiled lightly, rolling his eyes. "Well, because he's in a band, and I fired the guys from my last one. I want to play with a band again.

"And this is the way to get that?" Skulker questioned. Ember gave him a look. "Well, if that's your decision, then I'm fine with that."

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2D awoke, feeling very cold. Combining that with his growing hunger, aching head, and nicotine craving, and one could say that he felt like complete and total shit. Groaning, he sat up, rubbing his temples. He opened his eyes a crack before fully opening them, deciding that it was dark enough to not aggravate his headache any further.

He was out of the war room.

Looking around, 2D noted the strange colors, mainly in the sky. Nothing was right! Did he take too many pills? Something told him that this was not the case, for once. Something else told him that he should look up, so he did. Staring back at him was a glowing woman with flaming hair in such a hue that it rivaled his own. She was dressed like a punk, with tattoos under each of her eyes. Clearly, she was interested in him, for a smile adorned her pale face.

"Hey there," She said, offering her cold hand to him so as to make it easier for the lanky man to stand. "The name's Ember. Yours?"

2D looked severely perplexed. "Where am I?" he asked, looking uncomfortable. "This isn't a dream, is it?"

"This is the Ghost Zone; it's the reverse of your earth." Skulker announced.

"So I'm dead? Did you _kill_ me?"

"No, you're still alive. For now." Skulker said, cryptic. Ember nudged him in the side.

"Relax, he's not going to kill you. So, back to basics. Your name?"

"2D," the singer finally answered, glancing between the two ghosts. Ember raised an eyebrow, and then floated up to kiss Skulker.

"Thanks again, Skulk." She whispered. It was as if she had just celebrated her birthday, and had been given the perfect gift.

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Skulker was quick to leave, muttering something about needing to skin some wild cat of some sort. This left the two musicians together. He was fine with this only because he had seen the look in Ember's eyes. She held only greed when it came to 2D, wanting nothing more than his fame and glory that came with being in a functional band. As he turned to leave, he caught the man ask her how close he was to London.

"Depends on how fast you can fly. It's not in walking distance." Ember said, taking him by the shoulder to lead him towards her studio of sorts.

"I see." 2D replied. He allowed her to take him along, and was quiet for the next few seconds.

"So, how did you meet Skulker then?" 2D asked, rubbing his arms to try and rid them of the goose bumps that had manifested there due to the cold. Ember smirked, laughing under her breath.

"A dating site."

"Really?" 2D was surprised. He hadn't expected ghosts to use the internet, and failed to notice the sarcasm in her voice.

"What can I say? I love a man in armor."

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	8. An exit of sorts

2D was stationed at a keyboard, his fingers ghosting over the keys as he pretended to play some melody in his head. Ember, standing a few steps away with her guitar, watched with slight interest.

"Okay, now play something." She finally said, growing ever so impatient. 2D complied, playing a bit, a jumpy and fun beat that had been in his head for some time. "No, something else." The ghost quickly said, cutting him off.

"What then?" 2D asked. He was happy to play music with a person other than Murdoc, but the dead rocker was getting to be a drag. Ember rolled her eyes, playing a melody on her guitar. Just that was enough to let the freezing man know what sort of music she wanted to play to: punk. Nodding, 2D set his fingers to the keys once more, improvising as she started up once more. Then 2D's hands were moving on their own across the black and white keys, and he began to smile, finding happiness in music once more. He had forgotten what it was like to make music just for the pleasure of it, and he suddenly realized how deeply he had missed it. At Plastic Beach the music had been forced from him. Now, it just flowed. Ignoring the fact that he was captive in unknown territory, in dire need of food and water, he was content.

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Ember flew from the room when it was over. Shouting something about getting a CD to record on or something, she vanished, leaving 2D alone. He continued plucking at the keys, now just to hear them. His fingertips couldn't feel their smooth surface any longer, he was so cold. As if to remind 2D of what really mattered, his stomach growled. The magic, the happiness, from before seemed to have faded away. He frowned, wrapping his arms around his body in discomfort. Ghosts didn't need to eat, he remembered that, and he was pretty sure they didn't smoke either. They didn't get cold either, apparently.

The door was open, so he saw himself out, slightly reassured that the ghosts weren't in sight. 2D, shivering, looked around before walking off into a stand of trees. Perhaps there would be others here who could help him out?

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He stood corrected, five minutes later, as he peered over the edge of the island. Cursing, he crossed his arms tighter, shivering again. His breath frosted before him.

"Damn robot, bringing me here…" he muttered, watching as a green squirrel flew out across the green abyss before him. "I've got to get out of here."

He jumped up into the air, willing his body to stay off the ground, and frowning out of annoyance when his shoes slapped back onto the rough ground. "C'mon," he tried again, jumping higher and higher after that. Touching back down, 2D closed his eyes, suddenly becoming dizzy. He rubbed at his temples, keeping his eyes tightly shut, but to no avail. Sitting down, hanging his legs over the edge and hiding his face in his hands, he tried to calm the growing fanfare in his head. This didn't help either, instead only making his body colder from sitting on the unforgiving ground. He didn't feel like getting back up, so he ignored his swiftly freezing rear.

Soon enough, the cold grew to be too much, and the singer pulled his legs back up slowly, one at a time, before rising. Then, suddenly, the dizziness returned, worse than before. He must have gotten up too quickly. His mind falsely informed him that he was falling, and he stumbled, trying to catch his footing. Now he was actually falling, right off of the island, but he was already out like a light so there was no way for him to know of his blunder. He continued to fall down, down, down into the infinite realms of the Ghost Zone. His body, taking on a ragdoll effect, turned as he plummeted, and his hair whipped about wildly.

The Ghost Zone, unknown to 2D, was infinite. If gone uninterrupted, he would continue to fall forever.

Luckily, this was not to happen, because Dora, the slightly emotional ghost wielding the ability to transform into a dragon, was out and about. The man's body fell into her line of vision rather quickly; she had just turned to face its direction only a moment before. Her eyebrows rose and she frowned a bit, exposing her pointed set of white fangs. Ghosts, she knew, would never fall so… _limply_. They would never even fall in the first place, because they almost always preferred flying above anything else. Was it dead, fresh? Narrowing her eyes now, she looked past the approaching body, seeing the small shape of the robotic hunters' island. Everything fell into place. This body, hunted by the hunter, was not of this world and had just been dumped. Dora willed her body closer to the small one, and she extended a clawed hand to catch it. Before they made contact, she blew a stream of air forcefully, a successful attempt at slowing down the fall, and the body, a man, landed softly in her palm. As she watched, the tiny body turned, curling up in an obvious attempt at warmth.

"Poor thing, you're still alive!" she thought. Her head turned left and right, up and down. "Sir Danny's portal is near, but I know of another that is even closer. You need to be back in your own world as soon as possible."

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Dora flew swiftly, keeping the claw holding 2D close to her body to prevent him from falling out. She already knew that the door would be locked, but she had another idea. Upon arriving at the door she, in an unladylike manner, punched in the door to the portal, forcing it open, with her free fist. She deposited 2D inside before flying away. As worried as she was for the mysterious man, she knew there'd be hell to pay when the door was found in its current state.

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A mass exodus was avoided only because Vlad Masters, known to few as Vlad Plasmius, had been on his way down to his lab. He was too late and missed seeing Dora get away, but made quick work at assessing the damage she had left. A few machines had been damaged; one beyond repair, and the portal frame was horribly bent out of shape. Money wasn't a concern, these things would be fixed soon enough, but the portal was completely open. Clenching his fists, the man stalked across the room, deciding that it was in his best interest to totally shut down the portal, temporarily of course, before another foolish ghost took advantage of it. Clearly, the one before him hadn't been so lucky- the spirit was either stunned or seriously injured, lying in a shivering heap. Vlad stepped around a section of twisted metal to get closer to the intruder's blue head, reaching down to pull the ghost up by the neck. At once the spirit came back to life, squirming and uttering noises of protest as Vlad walked it back towards the portal, where the halfa would toss him back before shutting the machine down.

"Let go!" 2D gasped, clawing at the hand around his throat. Vlad, hardly able to make out what the ghost was saying through his chattering teeth, got the gist of it. As if to give an answer, he tightened his grip.

"H-hey!" the singer squeaked, kicking with minimal result at Vlad's stomach. The halfa glanced down at his expensive suit, frowning in distaste when he noticed the dirt now smudged into the fabric. 2D felt the fingers around his neck tighten as a result of this. If it was difficult for him to take in air before, it was now impossible. Desperate, 2D did a Hail Mary and kicked as hard and high as he could at the halfa. Vlad cried out as the lanky man's shoe, his _filthy_ shoe, connected with his chin. Shocked, he released 2D, who fell roughly back to the ground, coughing and wheezing violently.

"Ow, agh," he groaned, coughing again. His hands covered his throat in a futile effort in bringing relief.

Vlad stared down at the man, his eyes wide. Walking around him, he quietly shut off the portal, leaning against its frame as he waited for 2D to recover.

"Bloody ghosts, hate them all," 2D eventually cursed weakly, wrapping his arms around his waist as he sat up. Vlad continued to watch him, curious. 2D felt his gaze and turned stiffly to glare back at him. "What's your problem, eh? You almost killed me!"

"I believe there's been a misunderstanding," Vlad began, extending his hand. 2D sniffed.

"No shit. Where am I?" 2D asked gruffly, accepting the hand. He was unsure if he could get up on his own just yet. Following his attacker by example, the singer leaned against the nearest wall. Vlad nodded, gesturing to the room they were in.

"This is my lab. If it's any consolation, you are out of the Ghost Zone." Vlad said, ignoring the snap behind the question. 2D blinked, more alert. His dark eyes, which had been looking about the room, flickered over to stare at the elder man. There was an obvious gleam of curiosity in those eyes, but Vlad decided that he'd rather not look.

"How did I get here?"

"Neither of us seems to know the answer to that, I'm afraid. Come with me." Vlad said, leading the unexpected guest from the lab.

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The halfa was observant enough to pick up on the fact that 2D was cold and very hungry, and was hospitable enough to offer his resources. He wouldn't allow some stranger to die on his property; it would be embarrassing and difficult to explain to the authorities if word ever managed to get out.

Vlad forced a smile to his face. "You seem to be lost. Why don't you stay the night in my castle? I have the room, you see, and I owe it to you because of my behavior earlier."

2D shrugged, not paying attention to him, but rather on a hole that had managed to appear on his shirt at some point. He finally noticed the silence as the silver haired man awaited his answer, and looked up.

"What?" he said vaguely. Vlad simply patted his shoulder in a good natured way, pushing down a growl of annoyance easily enough.

"I was wondering if you'd care to stay the night here in one of the guest rooms. I owe it to you for my behavior earlier, and you do seem a bit lost."

"That sounds great, thanks!' the singer said, suddenly looking better despite the dark bruise under his eye and the overall disheveled look about him. He really did feel better though. Knowing that he was free from his plastic prison as well as the green ghost world was good in his book.

"Splendid. Why don't I show you to your room? Or, would you rather I make some dinner first?"

Fifteen minutes later found 2D swathed in a fluffy white bathrobe, which was taken from one of the many guestroom bathrooms, tucking into yet another bowl of soup that Vlad had been forced to make himself due to the sudden disappearance of the ghost who normally did the cooking. He watched the unique man eat; waiting for him to finish so that he could learn just who he was.

He was very thin, and obviously damaged. His eyes appeared to be two black orbs; he must have been horribly injured at some point. The thought alone of having to go through that type of pain twice was enough to make the halfa inwardly cringe. Vlad was at the same time amazed that he could talk so clearly, despite the absence of his front teeth.

2D caught the elder man staring at him.

"What?" he asked slowly, resting the spoon in his hand against the inner wall of the partially full soup bowl. Vlad shrugged, stepping forward to seat himself in a chair across from the man.

"I'm simply trying to figure out who you are, that's all."

"I'm 2D." the man said between mouthfuls as he finished off the last of the meal.

"I assume that is a nickname, you're certainly not two dimensional."

2D snorted. "'Course it's not my name, it's just a nick name some bastard gave me."

"How pleasant."

"…It's about the two dents in me head, see?" 2D supplied, pointing to his eyes. "It's got nothing to do with any dimension."

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	9. Headache

Vlad was curious. Who could this mysterious character be working with, and what exactly was it that they were after? After all, 2D's story of being kidnapped by a robot ghost, the halfa correctly assumed this to be Skulker, was incredibly unlikely. It simply wasn't something the hunter would do. Still, Vlad knew of Daniel's ailment, having been made aware of it through the grapevine. He assumed that Skulker was simply bored to tears.

Still… why would he select _this_ fool? There were plenty of other, more important, people to bide his time with, like Bill Gates or Oprah. He could have snatched a mainstream celebrity even, as if that would be appealing! What was Skulker thinking?

"What makes this man so important?" the halfa wondered, hovering beside the television under the guise of invisibility. "Money, power? He looks like he works for a fast food chain!"

Vlad glared at the younger man, his eye twitching as 2D yawned. The younger man failed to notice the expression and continued walking alongside the halfa, his walk slow as he took in his surroundings. There was a lot of green and yellow in the decoration, a pattern he was quickly beginning to notice.

"Favorite colors?" he asked, pointing a thumb at a tapestry bearing the color combination. Vlad shook his head and corrected the man easily enough. They continued on their way, each with a newer and clearer perception of the other.

"He must be a serious fan then," 2D mused to himself, recalling the way people in the pubs back home acted when sports were played on the television. He chuckled, imagining the serious man next to him madly cheering his favorite team on over a bottle of beer.

"The dolt!" Vlad thought. "Even if he is unfamiliar with football in America… One would think that seeing "Green bay" and "Packers" would be enough of a clue, or at least the helmets."

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Patience waning, Vlad had to stop from sighing in relief as they stopped at the door of what was to be 2D's temporary room. Smiling, he leaned forward to open the door, holding it until the younger man was in the room before stepping in behind him. He held the door open with the toe of his shoe, leaning against the doorframe in an attempt to look more relaxed as he watched the man track Ghost Zone dirt across the white carpet to the snow white armchair, which he gratefully sank into. 2D smiled, leaning his head back with a sigh of contentment. He remained in this position for over a minute before realizing that Vlad was still present.

"This is great! Thanks, err…" 2D said enthusiastically, rolling his head so he faced the door. There was a pause and bit his lip awkwardly as his bruised eyes turned their attention towards a corner of the room. Vlad had never introduced himself.

"Vlad Masters," said man announced belatedly. "And it's my pleasure."

2D nodded. "Right. This is a nice place too. It's like a castle."

"It _is_ a castle." Vlad confirmed. "It originally belonged to a man known as the Dairy King,"

"Wait, but you're American, yeah? I thought you didn't have castles and kings or anything of the sort here." 2D said, sitting up. "I am in America, right?"

"Yes, this is America. The previous owner of this castle was not an actual king; that was a false title to go along with his business. He was wealthy enough to have this built, and I bought it sometime after his death."

2D nodded his head again, relaxing once more. "Well, thanks Vlad, for letting me stay here and not killing me earlier."

Despite himself, Vlad managed a chuckle. "Don't mention it. Now, if you wish to shower, the bathroom is just through the first door over here." He said, pointing to the right. "I'll have a fresh pair of clothes sent up for you later, unless you prefer to continue with wearing what you have on now."

2D twisted around to spot the mentioned door before looking down at his clothes and hands. He was rather filthy.

"Clean clothes would be nice." He admitted. Vlad almost agreed, considered the suggestion of simply throwing the ruined materials away, and settled on smiling again and excusing himself.

"Dinner will be in roughly two hours, by the way. You won't know where the dining room is, so I'll be back before then to lead you there." Vlad said, hand on the doorknob. He pulled the door shut, paused, and turned his body intangible. As he sank through the floors he hoped that his idiotic guest would keep to his room and not roam the castle, fearing that 2D would get hopelessly lost or break something.

2D stared at the door for longer than he would have otherwise, if not for a sudden bout of daydreaming. He couldn't help from wondering about the generosity of the American, something didn't seem right about it, some part of it seemed fake. It was like how Murdoc acted around Russel when the drummer caught him in the act of abusing the singer: polite to avoid a fight and mocking all the while. 2D chuckled, shaking his head.

"That's ridiculous," he mumbled with a sigh. Vlad had no reason to be an ass like Murdoc. That gaze, however, that stare… something was off. Blinking, tearing his eyes away from the door and down to his feet, the man suddenly fell silent and began tapping out a beat against the arms of the chair with his fingers. "Vlad's not like that greedy bastard at all…" he stated.

This did little to convince the vocalist. Rather, the sudden rush of dizziness in his head painfully seized the majority of his focus. 2D whimpered, covering his ears with his hands and closing his eyes as his long legs drew themselves up into a curled position against his chest. The migraine was going to be a bad one; that much was for certain. He snuck a peek at the door, half hoping that someone would be just on the other side with proper medication. Bad idea. White light seemed to bounce off the floor at the bottom of his field of vision, driving painfully into his senses as his brain registered the assault. He shut his eyes with a pitiful cry. He was on his own for this, there'd be no arriving form of help or medication; Vlad was far off somewhere in the castle and his painkillers were even farther away in his underwater bedroom on Plastic Beach.

Resigning himself to his fate, 2D made a futile effort to relax and get comfortable. Leaning his head back, however, caused his mind to become even dizzier, tipping him over the edge. Hands clamped over trembling lips as the singer fought to get to his feet and into the bathroom. Opening his eyes with regret, 2D quickly stumbled into the bathroom, making it to the toilet just in time.

He pushed his body back to rest against the claw footed bathtub once he had regained control over his stomach. A shaky hand reached out to claim a clean towel, using it to wipe the sweat from his brow. A string of curses flew out between his lips as he sighed in frustration.

"Rotten tree… Sodding M-Murdoc," he whispered, cursing the migraine as he hauled his body into an upright position. A goal was forming: make it to the bed before passing out. It was roughly 3 meters away, shouldn't be too difficult to do on account that he was still able to see straight. "Here we go." He said, taking the first step and immediately stumbling off track and into the sink. 2D clung tightly to the smooth rounded corner his chest had just been introduced to, catching his breath before pushing away to stand once more. The sensation of riding a roller coaster one time too many took hold of his body as he stumbled forward through into the bedroom, his hands grabbing at anything they could reach to help keep him up. Finally, he made it to the bedside, where he yanked the covers back and collapsed awkwardly onto the soft surface, squirming a bit until his head was nestled in a pillow and the rest of him was comfortable.

"I don't think I'll be going to dinner then." the man mused, closing his eyes with a moan. Sleep came swiftly which the singer welcomed with open arms.

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Vlad occupied his time quite well down in his lab. The mess brought on by his guests odd entrance was still all over the room only because he didn't allow anyone else down in the lab. That meant little to nothing to the Fenton children, who seemed to barge in on a whim during the heroic escapade of the week, but everyone else did well to follow it. Most had no idea it was even there.

Three clones were instructed to retrieve all broken pieces of machinery and throw them back into the Ghost Zone. Replacing the lost equipment was of little concern to the man; he had more than enough to pay for replacements.

Peering into the short tunnel that was the powerless portal, Vlad noted the growing pile of metal. He'd turn the machine on quickly to dump everything at once, just in case there was some of ghost on the other side. He wasn't worried in the strength of the spirit, but rather the damage it could do. There wasn't enough time to repair damaged furniture or scorched walls.

"Oh," he said, glancing down at his watch. He had forgotten to inform his guest of the banquet he would be holding in his castle the following evening. Oops. It would make for an interesting conversation over dinner, which would begin in roughly fifteen minutes. The copies glanced his way, waiting for the order.

"Keep up with what you're doing, then come back." He said mentally before changing back into his human form and exiting, walking out like a normal human until he arrived in his study, where he quickly noticed 2D's absence. He phased out, heading up to the proper floor; regaining tangibility outside the younger man's door after the coast had been cleared.

"2D?" Vlad called, knocking his fist against the door to better get attention from the singer. "Are you in? I thought I'd show you the way to the dining room."

2D groaned loudly, rolling over and covering his exposed ear with a hand. It was the knocking sound that was giving him discomfort, but Vlad did it again anyway, unaware of his pain until the man's sound of pain reached his ears. The halfa frowned, leaning in closer to the door.

"Are you alright?" he asked, openly frowning. If the man were to die on his property…

"Migraine." A voice grumbled back, muffled. Vlad, judging that it would be better than worse to do, phased his head into the room to see what had happened. Heightened senses picked up the acidic smell of something in the restroom; it was figured to be vomit. 2D was still in bed, now curled up in a loose fetal position under his blankets. Most of his iconic blue hair was concealed under the fabric, but a small section from the crown of his head had managed to free itself. Seeming to sense this, the man pulled the blanket up higher, hiding all of his hair. The worst of the migraine was already over, now the vocalist simply felt achy and dizzy. Worrying that the other man would force him from the soft sanctuary of the bed caused 2D to curl his legs up tighter to his chest. Despite this, he was relaxed enough when his door was opened and Vlad walked in.

"I'm not up for dinner right now." 2D announced, desiring to keep the conversation as short as possible. "Sorry."

"That's alright. Can I get you anything?" Vlad said.

"Painkillers, please." 2D was seriously regretting not keeping at least a few of the pills in his pocket. It had worked so well for him back when he had lived in Kong with the band...

Vlad nodded, already backing out of the door. He wanted the man to return to full health and get out of his home as soon as possible; preferably before the banquet he was hosting the next evening. Promising to return in a few minutes time with medication, the halfa exited, shutting the door softly behind him. As he began walking down the hall he felt the copies of his ghostly half return to him. Stopping the last one, he silently ordered it to retrieve a bottle of painkillers for the vocalist. He didn't stop to watch it vanish into thin air, already knowing exactly where it would be going to steal the drug. Not having to run the errand gave the original halfa time to do some research on his guest.

Determined, Vlad flew to his study, seating himself before his computer. Using a search engine on the internet, he typed in two words: 2-D, England. It was obvious that the blunette was a foreigner, and England was the obvious choice due to his accent. Vlad leaned forward slightly, watching the screen intently as it changed to display the search results. Nothing! The first page went on about movies, school classes, and locations; nothing he needed to know about at the moment. He tried again, removing England from the search query and replacing it with the words blue hair. This got the results he wanted. Gorillaz, apparently, was some sort of band, and 2D was the singer and keyboardist. They were also incredibly successful, to the surprise of the halfa. Vlad blinked. A celebrity! Had Skulker truly advanced to hunting and kidnapping famous humans now, or was this truly just game to keep the ghost busy while the younger halfa recovered?

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Murdoc was at a loss. He had absolutely no idea where 2D could have gone off to, nor who had helped him get there. Frowning deeply, he turned to face Cyborg, having heard the cyborgs footsteps approaching. She stopped, standing at attention.

"Sir?" she ventured, voice flat as ever.

"2D is missing. What do you know?" Murdoc said, scratching his chin.

"I have no recollection of 2D's departure, sir."

"Well, he didn't melt through the bloody wall, did he?" the man muttered angrily, running a hand through his greasy hair. He sighed at the cyborg's response:

"No, sir, he is unable to do so."

"I know. Cyborg, figure out how he got away, and then come find me when you have an answer."

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AN:

Be sure to reread the updated chapters! They're 100% better than before and have some new stuff added to them.

I wasn't planning on writing in a banquet scene, but now that I am the story will be even longer! It also means that Vlad will be stuck with 2D for another chapter at least, maybe two. xD


	10. Look who isn't dead!

Since I have been taken forever to update, I've decided to give you guys a little teaser of the next chapter! This bit here isn't 100% finished, but it's very close and it's one hell of a cliffhanger. Thank you to all who have been waiting for the new chapter! Your reviews always make my day. Chapter 10 is almost done, I promise! There are whole chunks of it that are basically complete, but it has been difficult piecing the entire thing together. It hasn't been so difficult that it has taken over a year to update, I actually have been busy off and on. For a while I had absolutely no new ideas for this story! I'd rather have a good chapter that takes forever rather than a poor chapter that takes no time to write out. Anyway, I'll stop blabbering and let you read. Enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review!

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Danny had grown familiar with the oddities of the world that was linked to his own, where cold and silence seemed to go hand in hand and gravity was blithely ignored. Shadows, tainted green by the otherworldly environment of the Ghost Zone, seemed to cast a sinister and deadly edge to everything now more than ever. Danny had little to any happy memories of the Ghost Zone, especially of Skulker's lonely island, where he currently found himself creeping through cold vegetation with Sam and Tucker. Flashbacks of booby-traps, piercing darts, and the pulsing terror of being hunted like an animal had already set his nerves on edge, making it difficult to remain wholly optimistic about the situation at hand. The trio had months of experience fighting ghosts between them and knew a little of what to expect. 2D, the frontman and singer whom they believed to be Skulker's prisoner somewhere on the island, and the sole reason for them being there, had no such experiences. The threat of his violent death at the hand of the ghost was very real. Each of the three teens knew all too well of what harm Skulker was capable of inflicting upon others, and how the ghost gleefully carried out such tasks.

Knowing this, the young halfa had grabbed Sam and Tucker, pulling them into the invisibility and intangibility his powers gave him. They would be taking no risks during this mission. If Skulker could be expected to hurt the singer, he could hurt any of them. He would eagerly look forward to the opportunity. The hunter, as far as they knew, still assumed Danny to be too sick and not worth hunting. He still was not fully recovered, and he wanted to be able to do so without having to worry about the looming threat of his disembodied head becoming a wall ornament in the ghosts cave.

Sam tightened her grip on Danny's gloved hand.

"Why not just fly there?" she whispered into where she assumed his ear to be. Her breath brushed across his cheek, causing him to blush.

"I, uh, in a moment." The halfa said absently, straining his ears to try and pick up the faintest sound of footsteps or weapons whirring. He wanted to make sure the coast was clear before takeoff. "You guys did bring some gear from the Speeder, right? We'll need it."

Tucker and Sam both felt for the weapons they had managed to snag from the meager supply the vehicle provided. The teens assumed that Danny's parents thought that the Speeder, a weapon in itself, was more than enough to take down any ghost. As true as this was, the vehicle was impossible to sneak around with; it was too large and had to be left behind at the edge of the island. A Jack o' Nine Tails was crammed into one of Sam's boots, and Tucker had pocketed his beloved lipstick blaster.

"Yeah," they whispered in unison, bracing themselves as Danny took to the sky. As they cleared the treetops, the skull-like cave came into view. The hollowed eye sockets seemed to glare at them hatefully, furious of their intrusion onto the island. Danny held his place, momentarily intimidated by the sheer size of the formation. Skulker had been busy, fortifying the thing until it rivaled the security of a medieval castle. Iron bars had turned the hollow eye sockets into veritable jail cells. Gun turrets lined the base of the rock like toy soldiers, aiming out in an unorganized fashion… as if they weren't meant to be there. What was Skulker planning on doing with them? Did he plan to hide them in his island, to make the hunt all the more entertaining for him, or could he be holding them for someone else? His concentration was shattered to pieces as a sudden scream of terror erupted from the trees below, followed by the tell-tale sound of gunfire. The trio, now visible to all, gaped in horror.

"No!" Tucker cried. Unlike his friends, his attention had been down on the ground all along, allowing him a perfect view of a man who was running for his life.

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AN: When I have the actual chapter up I will remove this "chapter"... just wanted to put that out there. Thank you again for reading!


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